Guitar Spotlight: Cybele 100 NAT

Cybele 100 Spotlight

Check out the Cybele 100 NAT at the link above!

By: Josh Lucas

The Cybele 100 is a fantastic instrument that you can get at a ridiculously low price with the deals that we have going on right now. We’ll get into the reasons why in just two paragraphs (promise) but first, let me fill you in on how I chose to do the review this time.

So my band Culture Thief put out our new album “Dot and Circle” last week, and needless to say those songs recorded over a year ago have moved residency from the back of my mind to the front of my mind. Needless to say, since I have so many guitar spotlights coming up, I decided to see how the acoustic parts I recorded sounded on a new guitar–not only that, but a completely different guitar.

The cool thing about playing along to the record is that I get to test out strumming, tapping, fingerpicking–basically every technique commonly used right now. Not only that, but I get to navigate through multiple genres like indie rock, progressive rock, folk, and even some more virtuosic, shred-inspired licks.

The first thing I noticed is that Brandon has set up the guitar superbly, and the tapping was no problem. I could rip through different subdivisions within my tapped arpeggios, which isn’t always easy on an acoustic–especially one that hasn’t been set up by the right hands. The guitar’s tone was so tight and balanced that I really didn’t have to worry too much about notes bleeding through where I didn’t want them. The Cybele body shape combined with the tonewood choice of Jatoba and Spruce really helped to keep all the frequencies within a certain audible range, if that makes sense. There was no woof to the bass, no brittle highs, but a very well balanced and honest midrange that even sounded good when I would play my electric guitar lines on it.

The guitar also took very well to the strumming passages, and because of its balanced voice was able to sit in the mix when needed. But when I wanted it to roar, I could easily coax out that extra boost of dynamic range from this little beast.

Honestly, not bad for our least expensive guitar! It comes with a solid soundboard, and laminate jatoba back and sides. To my ears the laminate jatoba has a bit more snap to it, whereas the solid jatoba guitars have a bit more warmth and a smoother top end. Of course, if this is a guitar you’re using for gigs, chances are you’ll be running through a P.A. System, and you can EQ the Artec System to suit your needs on the fly.

All-in-all I was impressed with the Cybele 100’s ability to cover a whole lot of ground. It’s a lot of guitar in a small, relatively inexpensive package.